Celtics coach Doc Riverstold Dennis & Callahan he and team president Danny Ainge received a list of Chinese Basketball Association imports who might fill two needs: 1) a guard who can play both backcourt positions, shoot and bring toughness and 2) a big who can stretch the floor and/or rebound.

After scouring the CBA’s 17 rosters, here are 10 guys who might be on that list of players who will begin to be available once the regular season ends Feb. 17.

GUARDS

Von Wafer: The 6-foot-5, 209-pound shooting guard just captured Asia-basket.com’s Player of the Week honor after scoring 51 of his team’s 112 points on 19-of-25 shooting (9-13 3P). Of course, Wafer, 27, has experience in the Celtics system, averaging 3.2 points in 9.5 minutes over 58 games during the 2010-11 season. A disappointment in Boston, he was thrown into the deal that sent Glen Davis to the Magic for Brandon Bass. Just don’t sign Wafer alongside Delonte West, the combo guard who Rivers and Ainge admitted was on their list of potential signees. Wafer and West reportedly exchanged blows after a C’s practice two years ago.

Stephon Marbury: After leading his Beijing Ducks to the CBA title last season, the 35-year-old veteran has averaged 29.5 points, 5.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game this season. He too has experience under Rivers in Boston, where he finally played his way out of the NBA during the 2008-09 season. Marbury averaged 3.8 points, 3.3 assists and 1.2 boards in 18.0 minutes a night over 23 games for the C’s.

A couple weeks ago, we discussed why the Celtics could and should offer 32-year-old free-agent shooting guard Tracy McGrady a contract. Well, based on his recent Twitter activity, McGrady probably won’t be landing in Boston anytime soon. Well, at least not for the $1-point-something million veteran minimum.

Of course, McGrady later tweeted, “let me clarify: the pic of me in a Lakers uni is just a repost from a follower that sent it to me, along w/ caption yes or no. #ingoodfun”

Hmm, I wonder if his agent got to him: “Ahhh, Tracy, you might not want to tip your hand about where you want to sign before teams are even able to offer you a contract. I mean, you’re a seven-time NBA All-Star who played in Detroit for an awful Pistons team last season for the veteran minimum. Just a suggestion, buddy.”

Then, as if McGrady hadn’t shunned Boston sports fans enough, he went on a Twitter rant about how the Yankees are better than the Red Sox …

We’re 12 hours and counting from the NBA lockout, but that doesn’t mean we can’t examine who will be available to the Celtics through free agency for the (fingers crossed) 2011-12 season once commissioner David Stern and players association executive director Billy Hunter hash out their differences. Since we have already analyzed the centers, we’ll move on to the C’s next-greatest need: Shooting Guards.

Just as the Celtics seemingly solidified the center position prior to the 2010-11 season, the same could be said for two-guards. They featured a Hall of Fame starter (Ray Allen) along with a tough combo guard (Delonte West), a lengthy swingman (Marquis Daniels) and a shoot-first scorer (Von Wafer). The latter three are unrestricted free agents this offseason, and there’s a chance any of the trio could return.

As we’ve noted before, the Celtics have six players under contract in 2011-12 for a combined $64.3 million (Kevin Garnett, $21.2; Paul Pierce, $15.33; Ray Allen, $10; Rajon Rondo, $10; Jermaine O’Neal, $6.23; Avery Bradley, $1.53), and Jeff Green is due at least another $5.91 million this offseason.

However, unlike the center situation, there will be a ton of quality available shooting guards. As a result, Celtics president Danny Ainge can more easily upgrade the team as a whole by dedicating what little money he’ll have available to a two-guard once the collective bargaining agreement is in place.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the options that should be available to the Celtics at shooting guard, separating the current free-agent players into four categories ‘¦

Dikembe Mutombo wanted to play for the Boston Celtics. The problem is, he wasn’t sure how much the Celtics wanted him to play for them. Mutombo was on the list of rumored possible mid-season acquisitions and the big man was on board to play with the champs. But the Celtics weren’t ready to commit and Mutombo, 42, didn’t feel like waiting around any longer.

Prior to Tuesday’s Celtics-Rockets game, he explained why he went back to Houston on New Year’s Eve:

“In the last minutes, especially on the 24th and 25th, I was feeling like I was not the only one in the picture no more that they were looking at,” he said. “It kind of discouraged me a little bit. I said ok, I have about seven organizations here that want me and this organization that I want to go to, I thought they wanted me but they’re looking at somebody else. Should I be on the waiting list or should I just go take another offer that was there on the table? And I think by having a talk that night with Yao and T-Mac and calling me on the phone saying, please come on man. We want you here. I was like ok. Let me just go be with guys who are talking to me who want me to be part of their family than wait for the organization who are waiting on their decision making. I think they were in between. They were looking at, I heard about Alonzo (Mourning), then I heard about Joe Smith, then I heard about P.J. Brown. I was like ok, I’m not going to be in the middle of this. I just have to walk away the way I want to walk. I wanted to come to your cold city, but they did not want me.”

This is Mutombo’s 18th season in the NBA. He has a career average of 9.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

After hitting the charts, rap megastar Lil Wayne is now hitting the internet in his own ESPN the Magazine blog. Turns out he has a little bit of Spike Lee in him and has spent plenty of time talking trash from his courtside seats, including getting into the head of Houston Rocket Rafer Alston. As much as he likes talking trash, he claims no one does it better than Kevin Garnett:

“Back when I had those courtside seats I would hear everything those guys ever said, and KG was by far the best trash talker. That dude was creative. Even though he was on a terrible team in Minnesota all those years, he came in and was talking every night, intimidating people. He could get away with it because even though his team would usually lose, everyone knew KG’s game was at a different level. Most people would back down because it was KG. But then once in a while you’d have a guy who’d go back at him. I remember one game he got into it with Kareem Rush and he didn’t back down.”

Those also mentioned in Lil Wayne’s blog include:

LeBron James: “When you watch the Cavaliers games please be sure not to get up during the commercials ’cause you will see me on the Nike LeBron commercial. Yes. It’s kind of funny because he does that little thing where he throws the dust up and it gets on me and my new shoes so I’m upset about it.”

T-Mac: “Tracy McGrady? Come on. This is the same guy who said he wasn’t coming to New Orleans if the All-Star game was there. That guy? Come on. So then when the All-Star game came around who all of a sudden gets an injury? Tracy McGrady. Yeah.”

Dwyane Wade: “We live on the beach, but the funny thing is some guys in his entourage have a place in another building and my entourage lives directly across from them. So my entourage and his entourage are always out playing basketball together. D-Wade’s a cool guy, but I’ve never really been invited to his games. I guess I need tickets.”

… and even Manny Ramirez: “There are only a few teams that can afford to pay the man, and I would be heartbroken if he ends up in pinstripes. Manny as a Yankee would upset a whole lot of people, so I hope it doesn’t come to that.”